Farmers Movement Archive

BSP Bijnor president removed after poor show, intra-party feud in polls

BIJNOR: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has removed Rajender Singh from the post of the district president of Bijnor unit following the dismal performance of the candidates backed by the party in the panchayat polls. Jitender Sagar has been appointed in his place. BSP fought in 39 wards out of the 56 in the district but won only five seats. Bijnor was once considered a BSP stronghold from where Mayawati made her political debut in 1989 and became an MP. The party had won all the assembly segments from Bijnor in 2007. But over time, its position weakened and in 2017, it lost all the assembly seats in the district. Now, with assembly polls due early next year, the BSP’s efforts to make a comeback in the political arena has been hit by intra-party feud. So fierce has been the competition within the party that several BSP workers fought for a single seat in the polls, marring all prospects of winning. According to poll results, SP-backed nominees emerged victorious in 20 of the 56 wards with BJP securing eight seats, BSP five, RLD four and BKU leaders winning two seats. The rest were won by Independents. Soon after poll results, local leaders sent their reports to Mayawati, who replaced district president Rajendra Singh with Jitendra Sagar. Now, the focus is on who will bag the district panchayat chairman’s post. The 56 elected ward members will vote for the chairman. It is a numbers game with all parties eying Independents’ support to win the post.

The Times of India

2021-05-08

Meerut